The only thing Jean Michel remembers about Regensburg when we went there about 15 years ago is eating sausages and sauerkraut in the oldest roast sausage restaurant in Germany on the banks of the Danube! He wants to go there again. I vaguely remember the restaurant episode but have no other images in my head.
The Walhalla overlooking the Danube
On the way, we drive past the Walhalla, which we both remember, because we passed it several times on our previous trip. Built at the instigation of King Ludwig I of Bavaria between 1830 and 1847 overlooking the Danube, it is a hall of fame for distinguished people in German history.
Bismarckplatz market in Regensburg
We arrive in Regensburg late morning and park in Bismarckplatz where there is a fresh food market. We buy cherries, raspberries (himbeeren) and cheese and leave them in the car. Unfortunately no one is selling wine.
Haidplatz in Regensburg
Following the Michelin Guide’s itinerary, we visit the town, as we no doubt did the first time. Neither of us remembers a single thing! What, you may wonder, is the point of travelling if you have forgotten it all fifteen years later. Yet we loved that trip and remember other parts of it, thank goodness so maybe not all is wasted …
The outside eating area of the Wurstkurchl
Our visit culminates in the famous restaurant, Historische Wurstkuchl, built in the 12th century to feed the local dockers and builders. Despite the fact that it’s 1.30 pm, the outside tables are crowded so Jean Michel suggests we eat inside.
Inside the Wurstkuchl with its enormous pillars*
The menu is in German so with the help of my less than usefu dictionary on my l iPhone, we decide we’ll have the basic dish of six little sausages with sauerkraut and another dish which appears to include salad. The waiter, who speaks only very basic English, is rather dubious about our choice, but he checks we want everything at the same time and off he goes.
Double rations!
When four plates arrive, two with little sausages and two with two large sausages and a large amount of potato salad with a couple of leaves of lamb’s lettuce on top, I understand his reticence! We laugh and eat them anyway. We’ll just have vegetables and fruit for dinner.
The Altmuhle between Essing and Kelheim
It’s 2.30 by the time we leave to cycle along a tributary of the Danube, the Altmuhle. I doze in the car after the 25 cl glass of reisling and all that food. Between Kelheim, where it meets the Danube, and Dietfurt, the bed of the Altmuhle was straightened and incorporated into a canal connecting the Main and the Danube.
The wooden bridge at Essing
It’s a favourite with local Germans and tourists, so we aren’t the only ones on the bike path. We stop off at the pretty little village of Essing to see the wooden bridge and have a coffee at Gasthof Schneider, which is famous for its local beer.
Riedenburg on the Altmuhle
We then push on to Riedenburg, which offers a plunging view of the Danube, after unnecessarily riding up a long hill due to poor signage again. Finding our way back is much easier.
Prunn overlooking the Altmuhle
We stop at least six times before Jean Michel takes what he considers is the definitive photo of Prunn castle we can see high up on a hill.
The little church at Essing reflected in the water
The path takes us past the bridge on the opposite side of the village of Essing and the six o’clock light gives a perfect reflection of the little church in the water. Once again, we marvel at how many different experiences our cycling trip along the Danube has to offer.
Every time we move onto a different section of the Danube, we tell ourselves that it can’t be better than the last one, yet we are never disappointed. After leaving the Austrian S-bend yesterday, we moved to a little village near Kelheim in Bavaria with the unpronounceable name of Niederleierndorf where we are renting an appartment for 5 days.
The little village of Niederleierndorf
It’s not as conveniently located as our other accommodation has been, but it is quiet and comfortable (if you exclude the impossible down pillows and creaky floor) and at least I’ve been able to do my washing again!
One of the gate towers in Kelheim
We’ve been to Bavaria and Kelheim before – we can’t remember exactly when but we think it was in 1998 or 1999. In any case it was before we started our travel journal or had a digital camera which means that we don’t remember a lot of the places we have already been.
A wayside crucifix on the bike path
After unpacking the car and doing some shopping, we drove a half an hour to the Danube and cycled 15 kilometers upstream Kelheim, having a few problems finding our way as we got closer to the town. We’ve discovered that the Eurovelo 6 bike route isn’t nearly as well indicated here as it is in Austria and at the source of the Danube. We made a wrong turn and I misinterpreted what Jean Michel said and we both went off in opposite directions. Good thing we had our mobile phones.
50 cl coke in Kelheim
I had absolutely no recognition of Kelheim and its four town gates. Otherwise there isn’t much to see. We had a giant diet coke at a riverside gasthof (all drinks are served in large quantities here: 50 cl for beer and coke, 20 cl for wine) and cycled back to the car.
Kloster Weltenburg
Today, we drove to another town on the Danube, Neustadt an der Donau, to begin our cycling itinerary, this time downstream to the famous Weltenburg Abbey, founded by Irish or Scottish monks in about 620, and held to be the oldest monastery in Bavaria but nowadays more famous for its beer. We took the cycle path along the Danube which was mostly gravel and not very comfortable.
Beer garden at Weltenburg
We did remember the Abbey from last time even though we’re not beer drinkers. It’s a very festive place with a big biergarten and much activity on the river. Last time we saw a sort of floating party boat with everyone singing and drinking beer.
The organ at Weltenburg Abbey Church
We visited the abbey church with its many angels and cherubs and its ever-present gold, marble and stucco.
Pfifferlings, knodels und kalb
We had lunch in the beer garden, sharing a long table with a group of Bavarians, and selected two dishes from the menu, all in German, hoping for the best. Mine, which I had identified as having chanterelle mushrooms (Pfifferling), veal (kalb) and potato noodles (knodels), was excellent, but Jean Michel’s suckling pig turned out to be vol-au-vent and not nearly as good (I have a German dictionary app on my iPhone but it doesn’t run to such complicated vocabulary). We shared, which was a good thing because we had pratically finished my dish before his even arrived!
Weltenburg Narrows also called the Danube Gorge
We then took a 20-minute boat ride down the river to Kelheim, through the narrowest and deepest part of the Danube. River traffic is regulated and the engine makes very little noise. You feel as though you are gliding along the river.
Gasthof Berzl in Kelheim
After coffee at our riverside gasthhof in Kelheim we tried to find a wooden boat to take us back to the Abbey as the cycle path is not able to follow the river so you have to ride up a lot of steep, uninteresting hills on a busy road.
Boat with its silent engine on the Danube
No wooden boats were in sight however so we gave up and took the same boat back (well, a larger, more luxurious one). This time it took 40 minutes – we were going against the current – and we had more time to appreciate our surroundings. Jean Michel spied some cyclists on a path along the river bank and was starting to get upset that we might have missed out on something, but the path which in fact was an old tow path, petered out when it got to a large rock at the beginning of the gorge.
A smaller monastery on the banks of the Danube with a troglodyte church
Before engines were invented, horses on the tow paths used to pull the boats upstream. A rope bundled up in hay so it would float was attached to horses waiting on the other side of the rock, thrown into the river and floated downstream to the boats so they could be pulled around the rock. Now isn’t that clever?
A field of hops
To avoid the gravel road again, we chose another bike route back to the car but due to the deficient signposting and despite two different cycling maps we took a few wrong turnings through the never-ending hop fields. We got back to the car just in time to buy some more speisequark at the supermarket. Now I bet you don’t know what that is!
We nearly missed out on one of the highlights of our trip. If our home exchange in Budapest hadn’t fallen through, we would have passed over Washau altogether. It was Jean Michel’s fault, of course (he organised the itinerary and read the guide books!) but he he hadn’t realised it’s a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Melk Abbey
Melk and its famous abbey were on our list when we were in Aschach but in fact they were further than we thought – 125 K by bike – so after leaving Aschach early due to bad weather, I suggested we stop off at Melk on the way back from Budapest.
Vineyards on the hills in the Wachau
After consulting the Routard and checking the website, I phoned Weingasthof Donnauwirt at Weissenkirchen to see if they had a room for 2 nights. Bingo! As we neared our destination, we became more and more delighted. Quaint little villages, lovely scenery dotted with vineyards, panoramic views of the Danube. Exactly like the photos in our book and such a relief after the river banks around Budapest.
Our sunny terrace with a corner view of the Danube
Our room in the gastfhof is beautifullly decorated and has a table and chairs in one corner which is much better than the last one where I had to use the laptop sitting up in bed and we had to have dinner perched on one side making sure we didn’t get the sheets dirty, but best of all, it has its own terrace.
The village of Weissenkirchen from the ferry
Weissenkirchen is perfectly located. Just opposite the hotel is the ferry that takes you across the Danube. There are bike paths on either side which meant we could cycle along one bank and back along the other.
Crossing the Danube on the ferry
Since we arrived at the gasthof around 2 pm, we had time to book in, get changed, go across on the ferry and ride to Krems which is on the eastern tip of the Wachau.
Steiner Tor, the main entrance to Krems
The entrance to Krems is via the Steiner Tor, built in the late 15th century, the only one of the four town gates still standing. There are various other buildings of interest including two churches and a mediaeval quarter worth visiting.
The rathaus (town hall) in Durstein
On the way back, we visited Durnstein, one of the most popular villages in the area. By then we had completely fallen in love with the area.
On the banks of the Danube in the Wachau
Next day, we crossed on the ferry again and rode 26 kilometers west this time, to Melk. We were definitely on the right side of the river because the prettiest villages are across the other side.
Inner courtyard of Melk Abbey
At Melk, we rode up to the Baroque Benedictine abbey built in the early 18th century which overlooks the entire valley and left our bikes in a bike shelter that even had lockers to leave our paniers. The Austrians are very organised.
The entrance was expensive at 9.50 euro each and we weren’t that taken with all the religious exhibitions.
However, the library with its numerous mediaeval manuscripts, including 750 incunables (books printed before 1501) was very impressive, though not nearly as extravagant as the one in Wiblingen Abbey in Germany.
Modern painting on a side altar in Melk abbey church
The baroque church, whose renovation was completed about thirty years ago, is absolutely dripping with gold. There was even a lady polishing up the main altar to make it even brighter. There are also some unfortunate modern paintings on the side altars.
Wall paintings in the pavillion of Melk Abbey
We had a cold drink in the summer house with its beautiful frescoes and admired the view from the garden behind. The Benedictines certainly picked a wonderful spot.
Another typical view of the Danube
The trip back along the other side of the Danube was not nearly as exciting. Most of it wound through vineyards and apricot and cherry orchards. We even bought some fruit from a sulky wayside vendor. While we were there, a man pulled up in his truck and got out, wearing ledenhosen! They were even better from the front but I couldn’t take a discreet photo.
Man in lederhosen buying fruit
In the evening we dined al fresco in the hotel restaurant. The meal was expensive and disappointing, except for the wine which was excellent, reinforcing our usual practice of eating in middle-of-the-range family-run restaurants that cater to the locals.
Everyone who goes to Budapest tells you that you have to experience the baths. However, there are so many that it is difficult to choose. Also, many seem to have separate pools (and even separate days) for men and women. Neither of us can see any point in going there on our own.
Large outdoor pool
So I ask the lady at our hotel to recommend one that is mixed. She suggests Gelert built in 1918, which introduced mixed bathing at the beginning of 2013 which explains the contradicting reviews on Trip Advisor! I check out the Gelert website and learn that we can have a locker or a private cubicle. We can also have a tub bath for two for 63 euro or a chocolate spa (???) for 40 euro.
The lobby at Gelert Baths
We manage to find parking in the street behind the baths, which has parking meters. We have enough coins for two hours. A man walks past and explains in English that our car is parked in the wrong direction and we could get fined. In Paris, all that matters is having a ticket!
Outside pool on one side
We opt for a private cubicle for two for a total of 10,200 forints (about 34 euro) which is already quite expensive. We’re given a plastic watch each and told to go to the second gate on the right. There our watches which contain an electronic chip are scanned and we go through a turnstile.
Outside pools facing towards Gelert hotel
We follow a very long and winding corridor up and down stairs until we find ourselves in an area with private changing cubicles. A lady takes my watch and holds it up in front of a cubicle identifier and tells me it’s number 134.
The cubicles are actually very small but I’m reassured to see there is wire-netting above and I can leave my valuables there without having to worry about theft. We have to leave by separate doors but join up again outside.
Entrance to Gelert Baths and Spa
There is a large pool in the middle at 26°C and a smaller one on the far side at 36°C. The air temperature has dropped to about 21°C and the sky is now overcast. The pool is lovely and warm. A group of American teenage girls decide to try out the very cold tub next to us. Just watching them is dissuasive. The Hungarians remain stoic.
Pool from the outside
After a while, we get out and go to the larger pool. It’s feels very cold compared to the 36° and we have to swim to keep warm. We’ve soon had enough and think it’s time to go. I’m convinced the same pools must exist inside so we go searching.
Main indoor pool
And they do. A few more corridors take us to the main inside pool. This time, I wear goggles and cap so I can swim properly. I do the first length and start swimming back again. There is pratically no one in the pool. Someone grabs my arm. I eventually realise what the man is trying to tell me. You won’t believe this but the direction in which you are supposed to swim is AROUND the pool and not up and down!
Going home in the rain
There is a smaller 36° pool so we try that for a while then get out. We can’t find the showers so we go back to our cubicle and get dressed. We make it back to the car just in time.
Hungarian tojaji
Great big fat raindrops start falling and don’t stop for about another hour by which time we are back in our hotel, having stopped off on the way at Auchan (one of France’s most popular hypermarkets!) to buy some tokai wine, cheese, tomatoes and bread for dinner.
However, I have to say that I much preferred the wonderful spa experience we had, quite by accident, in Switzerland a couple of years ago near Lake Constance. There were ten or so baths at different temperatures with lots of whirlpools and even one with rapids. We felt really great when we finally got out.
Pest has not prepared me for Buda. Although we can see it from the other side of the Danube, I have no idea of what is awaiting us.
Buda Calvinist Church
We park the car next to an unidentified red brick church with colourful varnished tiles, put our remaining coins in the parking metre and go off to find a café to get some more change. The Corvin Café on Corvin Ter is just opening and the lady is unstacking chairs and tables in one corner of a deserted square. She is obviously very taken with Jean Michel so I let him deal with getting the change.
The Corvin Café
We walk up a couple of quiet streets and a flight of stone steps and suddenly, Buda’s Castle District is before us, like something out of the Knights Templar. It is quite stunning.
Castle District
As we climb, each step gives us an even better view of Pest.
View of Pest from the Fishermen’s Bastion
On the other side of the ramparts known as the Fishermen’s bastion, built in the early 1900s as a homage to the mediaeval fishermen in charge of defending this side of the ramparts, stands a white church with people milling around. There is something quite magical about the whole scene.
Mathias Church
The inside of the church is something entirely new to us. Not the rococco style we’ve seen up until now. The colours are muted with intricately painted walls and ceilings of Arabic influence though very different from the Moorish art in Spain. Although the church dates back to the 13th century, it has been remodelled and restored over the ages.
Painted interior of Mathias Church
When we come outside there are two men in mediaeval costume, one with dreadlocks, with hawks. There is Hungarian music playing somewhere.
The hawk
One building stands out like a sore thumb – the Hilton Hotel, an entirely new construction whose presence is totally incomprehensible, despite the “integration” of a few mediaeval ruins. You really do wonder how it was every allowed.
The Hilton Hotel
We wander through the streets, delighting in the painted façades on some of the oldest buildings in the capital. By then we have left the tourists behind.
Painted façades
We loop back to the other side of the church, past Holy Trinity Column, was built to celebrate the end of the plague in the hope that it would provide protection from another epidemic.
Holy Trinity Column
Then we go back down to the Danube by the same route as before. I see a family with a little girl and boy looking at something on the ground. It turns out to be a hedgehog which, suprisingly, is not rolled up in a ball, and is coming towards us!
The hedgehog
By then it is after one, so we feed the metre again and go to look for a fish restaurant with an impossible name indicated by the trusty Routard. We both order pike-perch (zander) prepared in two different ways. We’re not convinced it is the same fish on both plates.
Our restaurant
Jean Michel has read that Hungarian tokay wine is worth tasting but the waiter says we can’t buy it by the glass and that the half bottles are too expensive so we order another Hungarian dry white instead which is very pleasant.
Royal Palace in Budapest
We decide not to visit the Royal Palace, which has been completely gutted and rebuilt over the years and now contains two museums.
Instead we move onto the next item on the day’s programme – one of Budapest’s famous baths which I shall tell you about in my next post.
Once our accommodation and washing were sorted out, we were able to forget the hassles and get on with our holiday. Szentendre, the village where we are staying, is only a half an hour’s drive from Budapest – not a very scenic route admittedly, but a very convenient location if you don’t want to stay in the city.
Margit Bridge or the yellow bridge as I dubbed it
Parking in Budapest is more problematic as we have only found one underground parking lot so far and our GPS had a hard time finding the entrance. However, street parking is quite easy to find, mainly because it’s relatively expensive at 440 florints (1.50 euros) an hour and limited to 3 hours.
Parliament building from Buda
Budapest, as you may know, is the unification of two towns, one on either side of the Danube – Buda on the west bank and Pest on the east – connected by Széchenyi Chain Bridge. Not that I know how to pronounce it. In fact, the Hungarian language is a great difficulty for me. I can’t remember simple things such as hello, goodbye, please and thank you because they won’t stay in my head. So I nod and smile a lot.
Interior of Saint Stephen’s Basilica
We started our visit of Budapest in Pest, simply because that is where the guide book began. We walked halfway across the yellow bridge (actually the Margit Bridge) and looked across at the iconic Gothic Revival Parliament building which, like a lot of Budapest, is undergoing renovation.
Saint Stephen’s Basilica
We visited Saint Stephen’s Basilica (also called Cathedral), the largest church in the city which can hold up to 8,500 people and was completed in 1906.
Jewish shoe monument
This was the saddest thing we saw in Budapest. The Shoes on the Danube Promenade is a memorial concept by film director Can Togay and was created by him and the sculptor Gyula Pauer on the bank of the Danube River in Budapest. It honors the Jews who were killed by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest during World War II. They were ordered to take off their shoes, and were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away.
Synagogue and Weeping Willow
Another Jewish memorial in front of the main synogogue decicated to the 600,000 Hungarian Jews who perished under the Nazis.
Szabadsag Ter in Budapest
One of the many large ornate buildings in Budapest that have been renovated, on Szabadsag Ter, the largest and most representative square in downtown Budapest.
A wonderful example of recycling
I thought this was a wonderful example of recycling in the Jewish quarter of Budapest which still has many dilapidated buildings.
The Michael Jackson tree
The Michael Jackson tree in Vorosmarty Ter just behind Saint Stephen’s Basilica
Gresham Palace
Gresham Palace, a beautiful example of art nouveau architecture in the manner of the Vienna Seessionists, now the Four Seasons Hotel.
The Chain Bridge
The Széchenyi Chain Bridge, inaugurated in 1849 and the first bridge to connect up Buda and Pest. The architect is said to have committed suicide when he discovered the two lions had no tongues.
Security check
An amazing security check on vehicles entering the Bank of Hungary. The security guard walked around the car with a large mirror on a stick so he could look underneath!
A plaque commemorating a previous flood
2013 is not the only time that the Danube has overflowed its banks and flooded the city. This plaque commemorates a previous flood in 1838!
A total of 110 km, but it actually took two days. We’ve definitively adopted the train-in-one-direction system which means we can see more and not have to cycle up all those hills again on the way back. Jean Michel thought we should start with the source in Donau-Eshingen so we began day 2 by driving an hour to Tuttlingen and getting the train to Donau-Eshingen.
Donau-Eschingen, where the Danube begins
Although it was as sunny and hot as the day before (over 30°C in the afternoon), it was not nearly as pretty. Our first disappointment was that the source is undergoing renovation so is not open to the public. So after having lunch in Donau-Eshingen, we set out for Tuttlingen.
One of the canals along the Danube
The cycle route doesn’t always run along the Danube and we often rode through hay fields interspersed with flowers, which did, of course, have the advantage of mostly being flat. There were lots of irrigation canals, water irises, storks and covered bridges, but I missed the wonderful surprises of the day before. We didn’t see a single rococco church.
One of the many covewooden bridges over the Danube
On the way home from Tuttlingen, whose main attraction is its modern covered bridges, Jean Michel suggested we go to the lookout at Knopfmacherfelsen which is about 750 metres above the Danube.
View of Beuron Monastery from Knopfmacherfelsen
The view is absolutely breathtaking with the monastery in Beuron in the distance. We then drove down to Beuron to see the monastery up close. Access was through a covered bridge. It was a truly wonderful way to finish off the day.
Riedlingen
Fortunately, day 3 was not as hot (only 23° at 9 am), because was lucky because it was VERY hilly (and also an intermittent fast day). We drove to nearby Riedlingen and parked at the train station since we intended taking the train back from Ehingen. It’s a pretty little town, with lots of colourful half-timbered houses and painted façades.
Balcony in the church in Alstein
Before cycling along the Danube, we looped back to Altheim which our Gasthof owner had told us about. We found another beautiful rococco church with a painted balcony featuring bas-relief musical instruments. There was also a stunning vase of peonies which are very prevalent here and grow taller than they do in the Loire Valley.
A stork in a field
Back on the Danube we crossed a couple more wooden bridges and stopped for coffee in Riedlingen. We then passed several fields full of storks which obviously explains why there are so many shop signs and sculptures of storks in the villages.
Obermarchtal Abbey Church from the Danube
Our next stop was the Monastery Cathedral of Obermarchtel with more wonderful rococco and a balcony, but not as rich as Zwiefalter. As we came out, it was starting to spit which was a bit annoying as I had taken the rain capes out of the paniers. Fortunately, there were a few rumbles of thunder and nothing more.
The balcony at Obermarchtal Abbey Church
More hills and dales before we stopped at Munderkingen for a surprisingly good coffee. The sky was not looking very encouraging and we feared the worse. By the time we got to Rottenacker, about 7 or 8 K from our destination of Ehingen, fat drops were started to fall. We got a bit wet, but not soaked, and just made the train station in time.
Obermarchtal Abbey Church from the outside
When we got back to Andelfingen, where we’re not staying at Gasthof Sonne (that’s the next one!) but at Gasthof Swanen, Frau Smidt told us they had had golf-ball size hailstones! That was a lucky miss. Tomorrow I’m putting the rain capes back in the paniers.
And just for the record, despite our fast day (500 calories for me, 600 for Jean Michel), we cycled 61 kilometers including lots of hills. Tomorrow, we can have ice-cream and riesling again.
Welcome to Wednesday’s Blogger Round-up. To start, Petite Paris gives tips on how to experience Paris on a budget, with a list of free things to do. Maggie LaCoste from Experience France by Bike then takes us from the D-Day beaches to Mont Saint Michel by bike while Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris takes us off the beaten track in Paris, first by bike and then by metro. Enjoy!
How to experience Paris on a Budget. Without compromising quality or quantity. And free!!!
by Petite Paris, an Australian-based service for Australian travellers and fellow Francophiles
Here are our local tips and secrets on how to cut corners (and lines), avoid expensive tourist traps and overall save your precious Paris pennies with some smart, practical city advice.
TIP: sometimes a glass of red is more worthwhile than a coffee. 3-4euro per cup/glass.
a. Museum Madness
· Free entrance to museums: On the first Sunday of each month for all major museums run by the City of Paris Includes: The Louvre; Musee moyen Age; Musee d’Orsay; Musee National Picasso; Musee Rodin; Musee Quai Branly and Centre Pompidou. Read more
Cycle Path From D-Day Beaches to Mont-Saint-Michel Open
by Maggie LaCoste from Experience France by Bike, an American who loves biking anywhere in Europe, but especially France, which has the perfect combination of safe bike routes, great food, great weather and history.
Just in time for the summer season, a new bicycling path has opened from the D-Day beaches to Mont Saint Michel. On this route through Normandy, cyclists will have the opportunity to pass through the Regional Park of the Cotentin and the Bessin wetlands and test their athletic skills on the itinerary that runs through the Gorges of the Vire Valley. The reward at the end of the route, the magnificent Mont-Saint-Michel. The complete itinerary is about 120 miles, passing through the beautiful medieval town of Bayeux and the Abbey of Juaye-Mondaye. Read more
Two books that will take you off the beaten track: “Paris by Bike” and “Discover Paris by Metro”
by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use
I haven’t done a lot of cycling in Paris, mainly because I’m afraid of all the crazy drivers, but one of my best memories is of a magical afternoon when Joseph the Butler, Stéphane and I biked to the Bois de Boulogne for a picnic. Circling around the Lac Inférieur with a backpack full of cheese, foie gras, champagne and a baguette, we paused for a moment to watch a small boy diligently rowing his father across the placid lake and a family playing croquet on the shore. It felt as if we were a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city streets.
On this Wednesday’s blogger round-up, we have Wendy Hollands from Le Franco Phoney giving us tips on how to make the most out of a visit to the Eiffel Tower, Jill from Gigi’s French Window giving her interpretation of French decorating styles and Abby from Paris Weekender describing a visit to Méry and Auvers-sur-Oise, where Van Gogh lived his last days before taking his own life. Enjoy!
Acting French in Paris
by Wendy Hollands from Le Franco Phoney, an Australian who writes about all things French in La Clusaz, Annecy and Haute Savoie as seen by an outsider by Wendy Hollands from Le Franco Phoney, an Australian who writes about all things French in La Clusaz, Annecy and Haute Savoie as seen by an outsider
One of the great things about living in the French Alps is that it’s so totally different to life in big French cities. When I go to Paris, I’m a tourist: loud noises grap my attention, the Metro is confusing, and I need a map to know where I’m going.
If this alternative angle photo of one of the world’s most recognised landmarks doesn’t already give it away, I spent the weekend in Paris with the French in-laws who live there. Read more
Creating the French look
by Jill from Gigi’s French Window, French ponderings from an Australian who must have been French in another life
At the moment I’m working my way through a book titled Creating the French look by Annie Sloan, which covers eight different french decorating styles, inspirational ideas and 25 step-by-step projects. A great read.
I purchased it because I was curious to see which would stand out to be MY favourite style, but as it so happens , I appear to have a ‘mélange’ of french tastes. I should have known it wouldn’t be as clear cut as that! I mean to say, there are EIGHT different styles……and none are exactly what I would choose??? Let’s have a look together, and you tell me which style resonates with you :). Read more
Château de Méry and Auvers-sur-Oise
by Abby from Paris Weekender, an American living in Paris who offers suggestions for Paris weekends, either staying put or getting out of town
This weekend, I was invited to the beautiful wedding of two close friends at the Château de Méry in Méry-sur-Oise, located about 30 kilometers or 45 minutes north of Paris on the SNCF (local train) in the Parc Vexin. With its traditional château and chapel and ultra-modern hotel on the château grounds, this made for the perfect wedding venue. Congratulations, my friends!
As the wedding was in the evening, a friend and I decided to take advantage of the first sunny day in the Paris area in three weeks, so we headed to the Val d’Oise (Valley of the Oise River) in the morning. After leaving our bags at the château, we walked about 15 minutes through the town of Méry and across the Oise River to Auvers-sur-Oise, famous as the residence and final resting place of Vincent Van Gogh and his younger brother Theo. Read more
The weather was supposed to be better but it turned out to be too cold to cycle (14°C) with occasional light showers, despite the fact that we’re already in the second half of May. So we decided to visit Chenonceau which is 40 minutes from Closerie Falaiseau.
Front view of Chenonceau on a rainy day in May 2013
We were surprised to see the parking lot was quite full. There seemed to be a lot of older people milling around, no doubt with guided tours. There are automatic ticket machines though which meant we didn’t have to queue.
Tourist boat at Chenonceau in May 2012
Chenonceau is a ladies castle, as I’ve already mentioned in another post with photos of the outside of Chenonceau from the bike path. It was built in 1513 by Katherine Briçonnet, decorated by Diane de Poitiers some 30 years later, extended by Catherine de Médicis, used as a place of reclusion by Louise of Lorraine after the death of her husband Henri III, saved by Louise Dupin during the French Revolution, restored by Marguerite Pelouze in the mid-19th century and turned into a temporary hospital during WWI by Simone Menier. Whew!
60-metre gallery spanning the Cher River
Its location on the Cher River is unique. The main gallery, 60 metres long, built by Catherine de Medicis, with its chequerboard slate-tiled floor and magnificent Renaissance fireplace at each end, spans the river, offering incredible vistas on both sides.
The keep and Catherine de Medicis’ garden
The original keep is still standing, on the other side of the bridge from the château, and is covered with thick vines of trumpet creeper.
Diane de Poitier’s garden
Diane de Poitier’s garden with its eight triangular lawns and climbing iceberg roses can be seen to the left of the château while Catherine de Medici’s more intimate garden, with only five lawns, is on the right. Both offer wonderful views of the château but the best, in my view, are still across the other side.
Carved and painted door with the arms of Thomas Bohier and Katherine Briçonnet
Each room is more sumptuous than the last, although little of the original furniture and furnishings remain, one notable exception being the beautiful painted, sculpted wood door bearing the arms of the first owners, Thomas Bohier and Catherine Briçonnet.
Diane de Poitier’s Bedroom
Diane de Poitier’s bedroom with its magnificent 4-poster bed was restored by Madame Pelouze. The fireplace is engraved with the initials of Henri II and Catherine de Medicis, H and C, which, when intertwined can form the D of Diane de Poitiers, Henri II’s favourite – and incidentally the mistress of his father, François I – to whom he gave the château which originally belonged to Catherine de Medicis.
Catherine de Medicis’ Bedroom
After his death, however, Catherine claimed it back, in exchange for Chaumont. Her bedroom has magnificently carved furniture and a rare set of Flanders Tapestries remarkable for their borders of animals symbolizing proverbs and fables. A painting by Correggio depicting The Education of Love, is one of the château’s many masterpieces, and my favourite.
François I’s drawing room
In addition to an exceptional Renaissance fireplace and a remarkable 16th century Italian mother-of-pearl and ivory incrusted cabinet, François I’s drawing room has paintings by Van Dyck, Mancini, Ribera and Van Loo and a portrait of Diane the Huntress by Primaticcio.
Louis XIV’s drawing room
The salamander and ermine, the emblems of François I and Queen Claude of France on the gold-embossed Renaissance fireplace in Louis XIV’s drawing room, almost pale in contrast with Rigaud’s portrait of the king its extraordinary gold frame. There is another collection of 17th and 18th century French paintings.
Beautifully carved (and well-used) butcher’s block in the kitchens
The kitchens at Chenonceau, built in the bases of the piers under the gallery spanning the Cher, are quite remarkable and include a very elaborate butchery. The kitchens were modernised when the château was used as a hospital during WWI. Deliveries were made directly from boats on the river.
The White Queen’s bedroom in which she mourned Henri III
The second floor contains the “gothic” bedroom of the “White Queen”, Louise of Lorraine, where, dressed in the royal mourning colour of white, she prayed and meditated after the assassination of her husband, Henri III.
The Five Queens’ Bedroom with its beautiful ceiling
I haven’t described the equally sumptuous bedrooms of César of Vendrôme, Gabrielle d’Estrées and the Five Queens, or the Green Study, the Library, Katherine Briçonnet’s Hall, the Exhibition Room and the Second Floor Hall, but all contain the same high quality furnishings, furniture and masterpieces.
View of château from the cafeteria at Chenonceau
At about 5.30, when we finished visiting the interior, we had a coffee and a disappointing patisserie sitting outside the cafeteria looking toward the château. There were very few people by then, but given the very reasonable prices, I imagine it’s packed at lunchtime. There is also a gourmet restaurant in a beautiful setting (the former Orangery) on the other side of the building with a set menu of 29 euro. Unfortunately, we were too late for teatime (3 to 5 pm).
Orangery gourmet restaurant
We passed through the wine cellar, where tastings are 2 euro per person. We have a wonderful memory of drinking vintage chenonceau in the Orangery restaurant which we then bought from the cellar, but this time, they were only selling wines from 2010 and 2011 (8 and 10 euro a bottle).
Diderot’s salon at the Wax Museum
Our visit to the wax museum was very disappointing, except for the costumes which are quite beautiful; the wax models are not of very good quality and don’t resemble the people portrayed. Given the number of foreign visitors, I thought the video at the beginning could have been offered in English as well.
16th century farm at Chenonceau with wisteria and climbing roses in bloom
But the biggest surprise was the 16th century farm, including Catherine de Medici’s stables, which I had never seen before. At 7 pm, we were the only visitors. Wisteria, climbing roses and trumpet creepers grace several very charming little houses organised around a circular lawn.
Flower & vegetable garden at Chenonceau with clematis in bloom
Behind the farm is the vegetable and flower garden which supplies the château’s superb floral arrangements, one in each room, which are worth a post of their own.
One of the many bouquets at Chenonceau
We didn’t see Catherine de Medici’s Italian maze as we ran out of time, but we’ll make sure we see it next time!
Open all year round, 9 or 9.30 am to 5 to 8 pm, depending on the season. 11 euros for the château and grounds, 13 euros including the wax museum, plus 2 euros for an audioguide.
